Learning Disability & Autism Awareness Mandatory Training

North East North Cumbria Integrated Care System – Learning Disability & Autism Awareness Mandatory Training

In July 2022 the Health and Care Act 2022 introduced a requirement that CQC registered health and care service providers ensure their workforce receive training on learning disability and autism which is appropriate to the person’s role.    .

The Secretary of State is required to publish a Code of Practice, which will make provisions about the nature of the learning disability and autism training including the content, delivery and ongoing evaluation of the training. The government carried out a public consultation on a draft Code of Practice which closed in October 2023 and we are currently awaiting for the final version to be published. There is no definitive date for publication. As information is published we will update this page. The Code of Practice will determine the detailed requirements for providers to fulfil the amendment to the act.

It is expected, that the Code of Practice will require training to be co-developed and co-delivered with experts with lived experience of learning disability and autism. The Oliver McGowan training is the Government’s preferred and recommended programme.

The Oliver McGowan training is aimed at the whole workforce across health and social care and is broken down in to two tiers.

• Tier 1 is a 90 minute e-learning package plus a 1 hour online interactive session with a trio of experts with lived experience trainers. A person with a learning disability, an autistic person and a facilitator / supporter. This training is aimed at staff who require a general awareness of learning disability and autism.

• Tier 2 is the same 90 minute e-learning package plus a days face to face training with a lead facilitator, an expert with learning disability and an expert autistic expert. This is aimed at staff who provides, or who may be required to provide, a service to a person with a learning disability or an autistic person.

NHS England have published some guidance for employers to help identify which staff need Tier 1 or Tier 2 training.

You have to do both parts of either tier (depending on your role) to be fully compliant with the training. It will be a 3 year rolling programme.

The North East North Cumbria Integrated Care Board is providing leadership and co-ordination of what Learning Disability and Autism Awareness Mandatory Training will across the Integrated Care System. We welcome this initiative and will be working with stakeholders across the system to ensure our health and care workforce receive co-developed, co-delivered and impactful training appropriate to their role.

We have made available Tier 1 Oliver McGowan Training for the health and care workforce working across the North East North Cumbria only. We are working with the Good Life Collaborative as our delivery partners. More information about who tier 1 applies to and how to book a place can be found below.

Tier 2 Oliver McGowan is not yet available across our Integrated Care System and is expected to be available from autumn 2024. We will continue to update this page as further developments are made.

A train the trainer programme for NENC is also being developed and will be made available later this year.

Providers are asked to keep up to date records of staff who participate in any learning disability and autism awareness training. This information will be very helpful as we continue to work on designing and building infrastructure and model for delivery for the future roll out of mandatory learning disability and autism awareness training.

 Who is Tier 1 aimed at?

As outlined in the draft Code of Practice, Tier 1 Oliver McGowan training is aimed at the workforce who require general awareness of learning disability and autism. Guidance from NHS England can be found here. 

What do I need to have completed before I attend the interactive session?

To be fully compliant with Tier 1 Oliver McGowan you must have first completed the e-learning package. Your organisation may have uploaded this to their learner management system or it can be completed on the e-Learning for health website. Once this has been completed you are eligible to book on to the Tier 1 interactive session.

What is the interactive session?

This will be a 60 minute online Microsoft Teams session which will be delivered by a training trio made up of an expert with lived experience of autism, a training expert with lived experience of learning disability and a facilitator..

Who are the Good Life Collaborative? 

‘Good Life’ is a collaboration of local independent community organisations with strong connections to local people and communities in the North East and Cumbria. They amplify the voices of people with learning disabilities, autistic people and their families and deliver services that are shaped by the people who use them and centred around their needs

Interested in becoming a lived experience trainer

Through the Good Life Collaborative a number of opportunities are becoming available for experts with lived experience of autism or learning disability to become Oliver McGowan trainers. Here are some opportunities currently available:

• Your Voice Counts
• We are People First Cumbria

Dates available to book

Please use the links below to book sessions. Please note once you register for the session on Eventbrite you will receive an email asking you to also register for the session through Microsoft Teams. Please ensure you follow both processes.

If you have any issues booking a place please contact [email protected] 

More information on the national Oliver McGowan work can be found on the NHS England website here.